I love woodcuts and I make woodcuts. On this blog I write about woodcuts I love and woodcuts I make.

Friday, August 19, 2011

"The Calling of St. Fatty" by Tessa Shackelford

Image reposted with the permission of the artist. Tessa Shackelford's website is Dumbkat Press. Check out her latest work and musing at her blog, Dumbkat's Folly.

A light shines, a voice is heard, and she turns, gripping a rail (or is that a baseball bat?) and poised to run (or perhaps mount an aggressive defense?), though her eyes are calm and searching.

Just who is Saint Fatty? Though she (and the wall behind her) seem soft, those luscious "brushstrokes" are deceptive. She is really carved in wood, each cut quite deliberate, each layer of color put down in its entirety in a matter of minutes. Firm and unmovable. She has integrity, the makings of a saint.

She seems so casual in her nondescript T-shirt, skirt, and tousled, shoulder-length hair (okay, the halo gives her away), but don't underestimate her. She has been called, answered, formed with chisels and ink, and canonized by ART.

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About Me

I'm a fine art printmaker, teaching artist and sole proprietor of Words On Woodcuts Press. I earned my MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2006 and have exhibited widely at art centers, university galleries, and independent art spaces. I've been teaching since 2002, including through the Mural Arts Program. Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Wagner Free Institute of Science. I maintain a studio practice in Philadelphia. I'm also the mother of two fantastic little girls.